The Ghostly Dancer
by brillantbutscary
Summary: Minerva had always hated dancing, until she met her, that is... Minerva McGonagall/OC (Lyla O'Connor) FEMSLASH!


**Author's note:** This is my entry for the eleventh round of the QLFC and here are my prompts:

Main prompt: A line from the song 'Bohemian Rhapsody' by Queen: _'So you think you can love me, then leave me to die?'_ (Very genetic, I know, but still...)

Other prompts: 3. (scene) a dance between two characters  
13\. (opening sentence) 'Everything was going wrong.'  
15\. (word) necklace

 _She dances in the ghostly glow,  
Of a moon that neither cares nor knows.  
Raven tresses on skin of snow,  
hither and dither wildly flow._

Everything was going wrong. Even though it should have been perfect. The Yule Ball only happened every Triwizard Tournament, after all, it should have been a night full of wonders, a night to remember! _  
_

But now, Minerva McGonagall sat alone in the library, still wearing her glittering, midnight blue gown. Her hair was pulled back in its usual bun, instead of wearing her usual spectacles, however, her eyes were rimmed with violet eye-shadow,her lips were painted dark red with lipstick.

She looked elegant, if not beautiful, but among all the dusty books and shelves, her graceful exterior was as out of place as a cat in a dog's kennel. The dim sounds of music and festivities leaked through the gab in the tall oak door. Her hands shook as she leafed through the book in front of her. She should be out there, dancing and enjoying this perfect event, but she just couldn't go back...

A tear splashed down the paper in front of her and she wiped the moisture from her eyes, trying in vain to concentrate on the meaningless words etched into the page.

There was a giggle from behind her and a teasing voice said,"Well, if it isn't Little Miss Perfect!" The sneer following the sentence was practically audible and Minerva sighed. "Go away, O'Connor, I don't have time for this."

The girl chuckled. "The fact that you are alone,reading some stupid story begs to differ, McGonagall!" She stood next to her fellow prefect, frowning. "Are you **crying**?" she asked, in disbelief.

Minerva looked away, furiously. "Of course not!" she snapped.

There was a long pause and Minerva was startledwhen a handkerchief was held out to her. She took it warilyand dabbed at her eyes. "Thank you."she said, haughtily, angry at herself for letting a Slytherin see her cry.

Lyla O'Connorlaughed again. "I can't imagine how hard that must have been." shemuttered in a thick Irish accent. "No wonder your date abandoned you if you're always this uptight!"

Minerva glared at her. "Shut up!" shesnarled, taking Lyla by surprise with her sudden fury. She jumped. "No need to give me the death glare, darling! Honestly, I never thought you'd get so worked up over that bleeding prat!" Rolling her eyes, she sighed deeply. "Love really is blind!"

Minerva looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?" She asked, still glaring at the Slytherin.

"What do you think I mean?!" Lyla said, frustratingly. "He's an utter asshole! I have no idea why someone as bright as you fell for him!"

Minerva stared at her, startled by the sudden compliment from her rival. " **You** think **I'm** smart?" she asked, incredulously.

Lyla shrugged. "Well... Yes..."she muttered, blushing slightly. "You **are** the best in our year..."

"Thank you..."

"No problem..."

"..." There was a pause, longer than last one, but a lot more comfortable. "So, where is your date?"

"I didn't bring one... Not really my thing..."

"Oh..." Minerva looked at the girl. "You are really intelligent too, you know." She said.

Lyla flipped her light brown hair. "I know!" she drawled. "But, then again, I **was** perfect since birth!" Laughing, she sat down on the table next to Minerva, who couldn't help herself from snorting at the girl's remark. "How typically Slytherin of you!" They looked at each other for a while, listening to the music coming from outside the library.

Lyla jumped off of the table and gave Minerva a mock bow. "May I have this dance, m'lady?"she inquired.

It was the Gryffindor'sturn to blushas she stood up and curtsied. "You may."she saidquietly and let herself be led to the empty floor beside the door. Lyla took her hand, lacing their fingers together. She wrapped an arm around her waist, brushing her fingersagainst the smooth silk of Minerva's dress.

Minerva hesitantly placed her hand on Lyla's shoulder and she could feel her heart beating faster than ever as they started to first they stared with a slow, simple waltz, their feet moving across the floor uncertainly. They giggled at their mistakes, rocking back and forth the rhythm coming from outside the room.

And then, slowly with each step, with each change of tune, they became faster, reckless and joyful, their bodies entwining and untangling themselves. Their dresses flowing around their heels, blue against black, shimmering and rippling like two dark pools of spun along the darkened, quiet aisles, their laughter echoing in the room, the rhythm of their hearts playing together as one, the only thing they chose to hear, the only beat that they were dancing to.

 _She dances in the pale moonlight,  
Of a moon that's never seen such sights.  
On a trillion of such Earthly nights,  
under stars that shine so bright._

It was long after the other students had retired, when they stopped, panting, staring at each other, their smiles bright and happy. Lyla looked at Minerva, her hair was hanging down her back in dark brown ringlets, her bun had come undone, not long after they had begun to dance. Her beautiful eyes were glittering in the moonlight, coming from the tall library windows.

Lyla leaned forward tentatively and without thinking, she captured Minerva's lips in a soft kiss. She felt Minerva stiffen and was about to draw away, when she felt two arms wrap around her neck, pulling her closer.

Their kisses began like their dancing had begun, slow, experimental, and timid, then it became fast, wild, and gradually turned into something completely different, and similar to their dancing, that something left them gasping for air.

It was almost dusk when they finished, Minerva fixed her dress and pulled her hair into tight bun. Lyla snaked her arms around her waist, giving her one final kissbefore wordlessly placing the necklace she had been wearing into Minerva's hand and slipping away into the dusk.

Minerva looked at the necklaceandsaw, on closer inspection, that it wasa small silver locket, with an equally silver chain. The lid was made up ofa tiny metal rose, two petals connected to little hinges, the rose was painted blue and so exquisitely made that Minerva was almost afraid of breaking it as she opened the lid.

Inside there was a scrap of hastily folded parchment and onit were the few words:

 _Tomorrow, The Owlery, During the lunch break_

 _See you soon!_

 _LO_

Minerva smiled happily, fastening the chain around her neck carefully and headed back to her dormitory. 

_She dances on from dusk till dawn,  
In the ghostly glow until the morn.  
All by herself lost and forlorn,  
until tiny feet are tired and torn._

It was after the first Wizarding War.

Minerva walked, silently, through the rows of tomb stones.

The autumn's breeze was cold on her skin and she wrapped her shawl tightly around her shoulders. Her robes billowed out behind her and the wind whipped the tune she was humming from her chapped lips. Her tears were almost frozen by its icy blasts.

In her left hand, she held a bunch of blue roses, tied with red and gold ribbons. She continued to walk along the small graveyard path until she came to a small tombstone separated from the rest.There was litter covering it and the dark mark had been graffitied on the tombstone with red paint. She let the roses fall to the ground, taking out her wand and muttering a quick cleansing charm. The rubbish and graffiti vanished and, under the name _Lyla O'Connor_ , the words _So you think you can love me, then leave me to die?_ were plainly visible.

She felt her knees buckle and fell to the ground sobbing, covering her eyes with one hand, the other clutching the chain around her neck. "I wish I had not, Lyla, my darling, If only this war had never started, if only you had not chosen to follow that awful man... If only..." Her words were hardly audible over the wind, her cries mixing with itsdeafening howls. __

 _She'll dance forever till the end of time,_

 _And leave unsolved an eternal rhyme.  
She's the queen of Earthly pantomime,  
waiting for the eternal clock to chime._

 **Author's note:** The poem I used here, is not one of my own, but was the inspiration of this story. It's called: _She dances in a ghostly glow,_ by _Juan Olivarez._ I thought it was so beautiful that I had to make a story about it! And which character is better to choose, than Minerva Mcgonagall, the woman who famously taught Ron Weasely how to dance? *giggles uncontrollably*

This is my second femslash fanfic and my first one that actually has a plot, so I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to tell me what you thought in a review!


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